Edward and Tubbs Tattsyrup

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, respectively

A bizarre, incestuous married couple who manage the local shop, on the remote moors surrounding Royston Vasey. They pride themselves and the town on being "local", and fear corruption from the outside world. Edward is a vicious psychopath who will let nothing get in his way to ensure the town stays local, and with the help of the childlike, sheltered naive Tubbs, he wages war on those who would connect Vasey to the rest of the world.

David Tattsyrup

The Unseen: He was seen in series one as a normal man, but has since morphed into a terrifying off-screen beast after Edward persuaded him to "stay local".

The Dentons

Harvey and Val Denton

Steve Pemberton and Mark Gatiss, respectively

Two people with a passion for breeding fancy toads and extreme house cleanliness, Val and Harvey are made for one another. Unfortunately, their strange habits and incredible intolerance to anything outside their precious routines make them impossible to live with. When their nephew Benjamin comes to stay for one night, he finds he can't do anything that doesn't violate one of their endless house rules.

Benjamin Denton

Reece Shearsmith

Unlucky would-be hiker Benjamin makes plans to stay over with his Auntie Val and her family for one night so he can go and meet his friend for a ramble in the moors. He ends up staying over the course of two series, unable to escape the Denton's clutches.

A Date with Rosie Palms: Harvey thinks Benjamin does this in his house constantly. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest he's even done it once.

Earn Your Happy Ending: After two seasons of absolute HELL in Royston Vasey, ranging from being imprisoned in his aunt and uncle's house to being kidnapped and kept in a cage as David's sex slave by the Tattsyrup family, he is finally able to escape the town during the chaos of the nose-bleed epidemic.

Pauline Campbell-Jones

Steve Pemberton

A tyrannical Restart Officer who uses her position as an outlet to vent her hatred of "dole scum". She has absolutely no interest in actually getting anyone back to work, and is more concerned with useless workshops and whether or not her pens have been returned at the end of the day. She has a Hair-Trigger Temper, and can turn violent if challenged. Despite treating everyone on her Restart like morons, she's not too bright herself, and resents Ross for his education and superior vocabulary.

Laser-Guided Karma: Pauline ends up getting fired and on unemployment benefits herself. She also has to beg Ross for an appeal, which she made him do previously.

Obstructive Bureaucrat: Pauline once prevented Mickey from going to an interview because it clashed with his Restart (which has mandatory attendance). Her reason was he hadn't covered the "Getting An Interview" portion of the course.

Tyrant Takes the Helm: She manages to do this even after Pauline's time as restart officer, running the course in a much more abusive and dehumanising way than before.

Other

Hilary Briss

Mark Gatiss

Royston Vaseys' resident butcher and self-proclaimed "Purveyor of fine Meats". His status as a respectable businessman has earned him some considerable standing in the community, but there seems to be a dark undercurrent to his business practices...

Evil Tastes Good: The reason why he was able to get all the pillars of Vasey in on his racket. They just can't get enough of the Special Stuff.

Extreme Omnivore: He seems to consider sheep's eyes a tasty snack. But he doesn't go so far as to sample the Special Stuff... someone has to stay in control.

Faux Affably Evil: With his quaint shopfront, muttonchop sideburns and wide smile, Briss seems to cultivate a jolly, amiable image, but this veneer is paper thin and it's not too difficult to see the sociopath lurking beneath.

I Can't Believe It's Not Heroin!: Briss is, for all intents and purposes, a very dangerous drug lord who happens to deal in meats instead of narcotics. It's not revealed if the Special Stuff produces a high, but is apparently so delicious it's highly addictive.

Insistent Terminology: The illegal and appallingly immoral food he sells under the counter is only ever called "The Special Stuff". What is actually is can only be speculated on.

I'm a Humanitarian: A common misconception. His Special Stuff is not human meat, it's something much, much worse.

Really 700 Years Old: According to the character biography in Series 1, Briss says that his age "spans great oceans of time".

Geoff Tipps

Reece Shearsmith

An enbittered, volatile and unhappy man working in a lower-level position in a plastic-moulding firm in Vasey. His best friends are colleagues Mike and Brian, who have been promoted far ahead of him and secretly only keep him around because he's an old schoolmate of theirs. Geoff constantly alienates them by playing cruel practical jokes like faking his own suicide, pulling a gun on them over trivial matters and utterly failing to tell a joke. Despite this, he has ambitions to be a stand-up comic in London, and leaves Vasey to persue his dream in Season 3.

Attention Whore: He constantly derails his friends' conversations, and shows only a superficial interest in Mike's upcoming wedding, even though he's obsessed with being his Best Man.

Really 700 Years Old: When he goes through his Book of Wives in Season Three, some of the photos are clearly old, sepia ones that heavily imply that he's a lot older than he appears. There are more on the wall of his room, too.

Herr Wolff Lipp

Steve Pemberton

An effeminate teacher on an exchange trip from Duisberg who is also a predatory pederast with a fondness for school-age teenage boys. He's unhappily married to Lotte, who is disgusted by his perversions. He's tragic and pathetic rather than stone-cold evil, and the horrible things he does seem to be motivated out of loneliness and a desire to find love. He also may be a vampire.

Villain Decay: His first story arc showed him as an immoral, sociopathic rapist who buried Justin alive just so he could keep him as a lover for his return to Vasey next year. His next appearance was the Christmas special, while he was still predatory, he was much more pathetic and sacrificed himself to save the boy who spurned him. Finally, in the movie he's shown as more of a sympathetic person who struggles against being written as a Flat Character. He also finds out he's great with kids (really!) and ultimately saves Vasey from destruction.

Ollie Plimsolls

Reese Shearsmith

Founder of the Legz Akimbo- "Put yourself in a child" travelling theatre troupe, Ollie fancies himself as a gifted writer/performer of important works tackling issues like homosexuality ("Everybody Out!"), teenage homelessness ("No Home 4 Johnny") and disability ("Vegetable Soup"), but of course they are all badly-researched, unrealistic and laughably over the top. Phil and Dave, the two other members of the troupe can't stand Ollie because of his histrionic personality, bad temper and egotism. He is also incredibly bitter, especially concerning his ex wife.

Barbara Dixon

Steve Pemberton (voice only)

Owner and driver of "Bab's Cabs", Barbara is a chatty and friendly cabbie who likes nothing more than to regale her customers with the latest news of her gender transitioning in graphic detail. She finally gets what she calls "the chop" at the end of Series One, but unfortunately her surgeon is Mr Chinnery, and the outcome isn't so good.

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